In May 2021, the crypto market witnessed one of the biggest crashes in history.

Bitcoin dropped over 30% in a single day and touched around $29K. Ethereum crashed heavily too, while altcoins and memecoins were completely destroyed. Many portfolios were wiped out within hours.

Fast forward to May 2026, Bitcoin is trading around $77K.

But if you check many altcoins from that same 2021 period, most of them never recovered anywhere close to their previous highs.

Examples:

SUN was around $16 then, today it’s trading near $0.01.

DOT was around $19, today it’s close to $1.

Many other tokens are down 90% to 99%, while some no longer even exist.

This is why putting borrowed money or life savings into crypto is dangerous.

Back then, whenever the market crashed, people rushed to buy the biggest dip believing everything would bounce back again. That strategy worked for some cycles, but the market changed.

Today, many traders rely heavily on analyst tools and indicators, yet losses are still everywhere.

One major mistake people make is comparing current prices to old ATHs without checking tokenomics.

A token’s total supply and circulating supply matter a lot.

Take ICP as an example. Some people still expect it to revisit its old ATH without considering how different the supply situation is today compared to launch period conditions.

Another example is Celestia (TIA). When it pumped to $24, many people were waiting for $12 or $10 to buy, expecting another rally. Today, it struggles to even reach $1.

Why?

Because early investors and team allocations unlocked over time. Vesting releases pushed huge amounts of tokens into circulation, creating selling pressure after insiders already secured profits.

In crypto, not every coin returns to its previous ATH. Some never recover again.

GM